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Criminal probe ordered over Langham esclator crash

Eighteen people were injured in the freak escalator accident. File photo: RTHK

Authorities have launched a criminal investigation into the escalator accident at Langham Place, as they concluded that an engineer and a repair worker of service contractor Otis had failed to do their jobs properly.

The pair’s licences, meanwhile, have been suspended for six months.

Eighteen people were injured in the accident in March, when the four-storey high escalator suddenly reversed direction and descended rapidly.

The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department said metal fatigue was identified in the damaged main driving chain, and it should’ve been spotted if inspections were thorough enough.

As for the safety device, which failed to kick in, officials said they found “sticky grease” on its moving part, while one of the two springs to push the safety device was locked.

The Director of the EMSD, Frank Chan, described the incident as “extremely rare”, and said inspections have been carried out to ensure the safety of other escalators across Hong Kong.

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「我感到憂慮的，不是香港自主權會被北京剝奪，而是這項權利會一點一滴地斷送在香港某些人手裏（My anxiety is this: not that this community's autonomy would be usurped by Peking, but that it could be given away bit by bit by some people in Hong Kong）。」
----港督彭定康1996年發表他任內最後一份《施政報告》